The senior coroner for Lincolnshire says that the prospect of using the Usher Gallery as an inquest courtroom should be fully considered as the council consults on the future of the county's heritage service.

An average of 450 inquests into people's deaths are held in Lincolnshire each year at a venue in Boston, at Lincoln Coroners' Court in Lindum Road and at the Lincoln Cathedral Centre in Minster Yard.

But Senior Coroner Timothy Brennand is looking for new premises in the light of the closure of the cathedral centre and its cafe at the end of March because they are not making enough money.

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Mr Brennand said: "Lincoln Cathedral Centre has been used for a number of years now and there are two rooms that can be used as inquest courts.

"The closure of the cathedral centre is going to have a significant impact on our capacity to work through the heavy caseload.

"We have a number of contingency arrangements so there should not be any undue delay but these arrangements are temporary and far from ideal."

Lincoln Cathedral Centre (Image: Lincolnshire Echo)

He added: "We will be using the ceremony room at Lindum Road on more than one day a week, we will transfer some work to Boston, and we have entered into meaningful negotiations with a number of providers for the appropriate space to accommodate a large inquest with a jury.

"The plan will see us through the short term but I'm very anxious to secure a permanent arrangement.

"We cannot guarantee that jury cases will not be subject to delay as we seek to secure a venue and locations that are fit for purpose.

"Part of the plan may involve transferring some cases as far away as Skegness and I have been looking at sites in Grantham, Sleaford and Horncastle.

"It's an opportunity to review the locations that may be available to me as coroner in a way that offers a more localised service moving forward.

"I envisage the service as operating three courts a day - two in Lincoln and one in Boston.

"The other matter is co-locating the court room with the office.

"It would be useful if families were able to make court visits before the day of the inquest so that they are more involved and have greater understanding of the process."

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Mr Brennand said he has been talking to conference centres, courts and Lincolnshire County Council about possible venues.

The council is consulting on moves to cut its heritage budget by £750,000 a year and this includes the possibility of using parts of the Usher Gallery for weddings and for coroners services.

It is exploring alternative uses with the building's owner, the city council, and some art could be moved to The Collection next door.

Mr Brennand said: "The elephant in the room is the Usher Gallery.

"I am personally committed to ensuring we do everything we can to support bereaved families and this proposal could be an opportunity to provide a better environment for families at such a difficult time.

"So I think that using the Usher building as a home for the coroners service should be given serious consideration.

"The county council will soon be consulting on its plans for the heritage service, and I will be interested to see what feedback is received."

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The cathedral centre hosts weddings and parties and has a cafe and a secret garden.

The last inquest to be held there is due to conclude in the second week of April.

The Cathedral Chapter and the board of the cathedral's business arm have decided to close the venue because it has not made enough money over the years.

The centre could still be used for internal meetings as the cathedral looks at the building's best use and value to the cathedral.

What is an inquest?

Inquests are held when the cause of someone's death was violent, unnatural, sudden, unknown or happened in prison.

The coroner sets out to answer four questions: the identity of the deceased and how, when and where they died.

Inquests are an investigation into the facts surrounding someone's death and the proceedings are not about apportioning blame.

However, coroners can make recommendations in the interest of public safety, for example, better road signs or a lower speed limit following a fatal road collision or improvements to procedures after a hospital death.

Lincolnshire's coroners' service deals with an average of 3,250 deaths a year, of which about 450 on average are subject to an inquest.

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